SKH-1c-2014D-04 Spiked Head

Description

A fourth spiked head for the 2014 Denver Lincoln Shield Cent, SKH-1c-2014D-04 confirms a pattern of recurring die failures near Lincoln's portrait at this facility. Four spiked heads from a single year and mint suggests production conditions at Denver in 2014 were particularly conducive to die cracking near the portrait's apex, whether from die steel properties, hubbing pressures, or the high-speed striking environment. Each spiked head is attributable to a distinct working die, differentiated by the spike's precise location, size, and angle. The Lincoln Shield Cent series, running from 2010 to the present, pairs Brenner's obverse with Lyndall Bass's union shield reverse, and both Philadelphia and Denver produce billions of cents annually, consuming thousands of working dies. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, this variety is identified under magnification at the top of Lincoln's head. The copper-plated zinc composition adopted in 1982 continues to generate the die deterioration phenomena that produce spiked heads across the Lincoln Cent series.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Robert Oney
• Cross reference: 12/06/2020.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References